Job fallen through due to covid before getting visa — need to get to China to support my wife

[kissnkiss]

I have been trying to get to China for 2/+ years now as my girlfriend is Chinese and while she has a UK travel visa, she can't be here more than half a year at a time.

I got a job in Shanghai as an English teacher but while my visa is processing, the school closed down due to covid, so now I'm unsure how to proceed or if I will even get the visa. 

My girlfriend has already booked her ticket back to China and I was hoping to join her otherwise she'd have to navigate the Chinese covid situation by herself.

Has anyone managed to get to China for the first time on an entry level job during this pandemic? I do have teaching experience in the UK and I speak fluent Chinese.

I am willing to take any route to be with my partner!

[TheBigZaboon]

Sounds to me like it's time to bite the bullet and tie the knot... (Coupla English chengyu's there...) From your description of your problems, it seems to me that marriage will force both governments to step up to the plate (Dontcha just love a well-placed chengyu...) and acknowledge reality. And you did say that you'd be willing to "take any route" to be together... I realize that the powers that be make it hard to marry at your convenience in order to frustrate immigration fraud, but love should be able to find a way (oops, did it again...).

 

Just seems so simple to me, but then again, this isn't a problem I'm gonna have to face again...

 

TBZ

[kissnkiss]

Hi! Unfortunately can't get married as we need to prove 2 years of cohabitation which we can't as she's on a visa that only allows her to stay 6 months out of the year.

[TheBigZaboon]

How about marriage in a third country (I'm reading "A Thousand Years of Annoying the French" right now), followed by registration of that marriage in a local consulate. Then, I'd probably see following up in the UK rather than China as the next step. There has to be a way all these backpackers survive and seemingly flourish...  I'm on your side here, really. Check out smaller countries like Luxembourg or Monaco, or maybe even Scandinavia. Lonely Planet has to be good for something...

 

Just trying to help...

 

TBZ

[grawrt]

Maybe try avoiding language schools. Those are constantly being shut down due to covid.  I would look for maybe a middle school or high school or an international school or even a kindergarten， thsoe tend to have better 关系 than language schools. You can also look into hiring an agency to get you the job. I have seen new teachers arriving to China for awhile now. Its not impossible to get a visa. And as you're from the UK you should be ok.  

 

[Jellyfish]

I do think that a wedding is your safest option as things stand. Definitely look into alternatives to your local wedding regulations (eg Ohio online weddings or Denmark tourist visa weddings, if your partner can get a tourist visa right now that is).

If you can't find anything suitable or you'd rather get married in a more romantic way, I think you should probably be able to get a teaching job as a native speaker with teaching experience. From what I see and hear from friends, lots of English teachers are exiting China to escape the never ending lockdowns right now. You might have to wait until the next semester though as contracts usually run from semester to semester. As was mentioned before, try and go for high schools or universities as those won't get shut down (plus from what I hear, language schools are pretty rough to work at whereas high schools and unis are pretty chill).

My circumstances have changed a bit now so I don't need to look for jobs in China right now but for the brief time when I was looking, I searched on https://www.echinacities.com/ 

I never actually applied for any of the jobs there so I can't tell you if those listings are legit or not but at least there's lots of them haha. Good luck!

[Dutch Guye]

Hi, 

 

Yes a lot of people are traveling to china. You should however need to commit to the government in travel guidelines. For instance, traveling from The Netherlands to China you will need to perform 2 PCR test before boarding. 

In this news item you find more information:

https://coronareistesten.nl/country-policy/pcr-test-china/

Next you will need to upload your result to the Chinese Embassy, who will give your permission to travel into china. This online form: https://hrhk.cs.mfa.gov.cn/H5/

 

For passengers from third countries, this information can be found on the embassy website:

3. China-bound foreign passengers departing from third countries and transiting in the Netherlands should upload the following documents through https://hrhk.cs.mfa.gov.cn/H5/ when applying for the QR code with “HDC” mark:

(1) Double PCR test certificates in the Netherlands

(2) Complete itineraries.

 

I know you get into China if you follow above rules. Good luck